Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

ABSTRACT

Provided is an information processing apparatus including a communication unit for receiving, from an external device, degree-of-attention information including information on a degree of attention, for each part of first content, calculated based on a state of viewing of a user, and a priority information generation unit for generating, using the degree-of-attention information, priority information including information on a priority for viewing for each part of second content. The communication unit transmits the priority information to the external device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of and claims thebenefit or priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 from U.S. application Ser. No.13/359,910, filed Jan. 27, 2012, which contains subject matter relatedto that disclosed in Japanese Priority Patent Application JP2011-047891, filed in the Japan Patent Office on Mar. 4, 2011, theentire contents of both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus,an information processing method, and a program.

In many cases, a user viewing content provided by TV broadcast,streaming broadcast using the Internet, or the like views the contentwithin a limited time. Therefore, the user may not have enough time toview the entire content. On the other hand, parts of the content are notnecessarily arranged in the order of interest of the user. Thus, formany users, to view the content from the start in proper order possiblymeans missing out on parts they are highly interested in, and is notlogical.

Thus, a technology is being developed that sets priorities, reflectingdegrees of interest of a user, for respective parts of content, and thatautomatically extracts a part with a high priority and provides the sameto the user. For example, JP 2010-266880A describes a technology ofassuming, with respect to content such as a sports broadcast, a partwhere audio information indicates a loud cheer as a climax part,creating a digest by automatically extracting the climax parts, andproviding the digest to a user. The user is thereby enabled toselectively view the climax parts of content within a limited time, andeffectively use the time.

SUMMARY

However, the degree of interest of a user for each part of content isnot necessarily estimated based on a cheer. For example, content otherthan sports broadcast, such as news, seldom includes cheers in audioinformation. Thus, it is difficult, with respect to such content, to setpriorities for respective parts by the technology described in JP2010-266880A.

Accordingly, a technology of acquiring, for a greater variety ofcontent, priorities, reflecting the degrees of interest of a user, forrespective parts of content is desired.

According to the present disclosure, there is provided an informationprocessing apparatus which includes a communication unit for receiving,from an external device, degree-of-attention information includinginformation on a degree of attention, for each part of first content,calculated based on a state of viewing of a user, and a priorityinformation generation unit for generating, using thedegree-of-attention information, priority information includinginformation on a priority for viewing for each part of second content.The communication unit transmits the priority information to theexternal device.

Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, there is provided aninformation processing apparatus which includes a degree-of-attentioninformation generation unit for generating degree-of-attentioninformation including information on a degree of attention, for eachpart of first content, calculated based on a state of viewing of a user,and a communication unit for transmitting the degree-of-attentioninformation to an external device, and receiving, from the externaldevice, priority information, including information on a priority forviewing for each part of second content, generated using thedegree-of-attention information.

Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, there is provided aninformation processing method which includes receiving, from an externaldevice, degree-of-attention information including information on adegree of attention, for each part of first content, calculated based ona state of viewing of a user, generating, using the degree-of-attentioninformation, priority information including information on a priorityfor viewing for each part of second content, and transmitting thepriority information to the external device.

Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, there is provided aninformation processing method which includes generatingdegree-of-attention information including information on a degree ofattention, for each part of first content, calculated based on a stateof viewing of a user, transmitting the degree-of-attention informationto an external device, and receiving, from the external device, priorityinformation, including information on a priority for viewing for eachpart of second content, generated using the degree-of-attentioninformation.

Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, there is provided aprogram for causing a computer to function as a communication unit forreceiving, from an external device, degree-of-attention informationincluding information on a degree of attention, for each part of firstcontent, calculated based on a state of viewing of a user, and apriority information generation unit for generating, using thedegree-of-attention information, priority information includinginformation on a priority for viewing for each part of second content.The communication unit transmits the priority information to theexternal device.

Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, there is provided aprogram for causing a computer to function as a degree-of-attentioninformation generation unit for generating degree-of-attentioninformation including information on a degree of attention, for eachpart of first content, calculated based on a state of viewing of a user,and a communication unit for transmitting the degree-of-attentioninformation to an external device, and receiving, from the externaldevice, priority information, including information on a priority forviewing for each part of second content, generated using thedegree-of-attention information.

According to the present disclosure, the priority for viewing for eachpart of content may be calculated using degree-of-attention informationfor each part of another piece of content, for example.

According to the present disclosure described above, priorities,reflecting the degrees of interest of a user, for respective parts ofcontent can be acquired for a greater variety of content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a clientdevice according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an imageprocessing unit of the client device according to the first embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a serverdevice according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of processing performed, inthe first embodiment of the present disclosure, when normally viewingcontent;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of processing performed, inthe first embodiment of the present disclosure, when digest viewingcontent;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of calculation of a degree ofattention in the first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the degree of attention calculated in theexample of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram for conceptually describing creation of digestcontent in the first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen that isdisplayed for creation of digest content in the first embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the operation screenthat is displayed for creation of digest content in the first embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen that isdisplayed in a modified example of the first embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of the operation screenthat is displayed in the modified example of the first embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of amobile device according to a second embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of aclient device according to the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing an example of processing performed, inthe second embodiment of the present disclosure, when normally viewingcontent;

FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing an example of processing performed, inthe second embodiment of the present disclosure, when digest viewingcontent; and

FIG. 17 is a block diagram for describing a hardware configuration of aninformation processing apparatus according to each embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that,in this specification and the appended drawings, structural elementsthat have substantially the same function and configuration are denotedwith the same reference numerals, and repeated explanation of thesestructural elements is omitted.

Additionally, the explanation will be given in the following order.

1. First Embodiment

-   -   1-1. Functional Configuration    -   1-2. Process Flow    -   1-3. Degree-of-Attention Calculation Process    -   1-4. Priority Calculation Process    -   1-5. Digest Content Creation Process    -   1-6. Modified Example    -   1-7. Summary

2. Second Embodiment

-   -   2-1. Functional Configuration    -   2-2. Process Flow    -   2-3. Modified Example    -   2-4. Summary

3. Hardware Configuration

4. Supplement

1. First Embodiment

According to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, a user viewscontent using a client device 100 such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)recorder or a Blu-Ray (registered trademark) recorder, for example. Theclient device 100 generates degree-of-attention information includinginformation on the degree of attention for each part of content, basedon the state of viewing of the user, and transmits the information to aservice device 200. The server device 200 stores the receiveddegree-of-attention information in a database.

Furthermore, the client device 100 generates request informationrequesting provision of priority information including information onpriority for viewing for each part of content, and transmits theinformation to the server device 200. The server device 200 generates,in response to the received request information, priority information byusing the degree-of-attention information stored in the database, andtransmits the information to the client device 100. The client device100 creates, using the received priority information, digest contentobtained by extracting parts, of content, with high priorities, andprovides it to the user.

(1-1. Functional Configuration)

(Client Device)

First, a schematic functional configuration of the client device 100according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing afunctional configuration of the client device 100.

The client device 100 is an example of an information processingapparatus according to the present disclosure, and includes an imageacquisition unit 101, an image processing unit 103, adegree-of-attention information generation unit 105, a requestinformation generation unit 107, a digest creation unit 109, an imageoutput unit 111, a content storage unit 151 and a communication unit171. The client device 100 is realized as a content recording/playbackdevice such as a DVD recorder or a Blu-ray (registered trademark)recorder, for example. The client device 100 may also be realized as aTV receiver that is incorporated with a display device 10 and a camera20, or a PC (Personal Computer), for example.

The image acquisition unit 101 is realized by a CPU (Central ProcessingUnit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory) and acommunication device, for example. The image acquisition unit 101acquires an image of users U1 and U2 who are viewing content using thedisplay device 10 from the camera 20 connected to the client device 100.Additionally, there may be several users as shown in the drawing orthere may be one user. The image acquired by the image acquisition unit101 includes the faces of the users U1 and U2, for example. The imageacquisition unit 101 provides information on the acquired image to theimage processing unit 103.

The image processing unit 103 is realized by a CPU, a GPU (GraphicsProcessing Unit), a ROM and a RAM, for example. The image processingunit 103 processes the information on the image acquired from the imageacquisition unit 101 by filtering or the like, and acquires informationregarding the users U1 and U2. For example, the image processing unit103 recognises the users U1 and U2 based on images of the faces includedin the image, and acquires user IDs. Also, the image processing unit 103may acquire information regarding movements of the users U1 and U2, suchas angles of the faces, closing of the eyes, gaze directions or thelike. The image processing unit 103 provides the acquired information tothe degree-of-attention information generation unit 105 and the requestinformation generation unit 107. Additionally, a detailed functionalconfiguration of the image processing unit 103 will be described later.

The degree-of-attention information generation unit 105 is realized by aCPU, a ROM and a RAM, for example. The degree-of-attention informationgeneration unit 105 calculates, based on the information regarding themovement of a user acquired from the image processing unit 103, thedegree of attention for each part of content, and generatesdegree-of-attention information including information on the degree ofattention which has been calculated. Here, the movement of a user is anexample of a state of viewing of the user. The degree-of-attentioninformation includes information for specifying a user and content. Theinformation for specifying a user may be the user ID acquired by theimage processing unit 103. The degree-of-attention information which hasbeen generated is provided to the communication unit 171, and istransmitted from the communication unit 171 to the server device 200.Additionally, a concrete example of calculation of the degree ofattention will be described later.

The request information generation unit 107 is realized by a CPU, a ROMand a RAM, for example. The request information generation unit 107generates the request information requesting provision of the priorityinformation, by using the information provided by the image processingunit 103. The request information includes information on a subjectuser. The information on a subject user may be the user ID acquired bythe image processing unit 103, for example. Also, the requestinformation generation unit 107 may generate the request informationtaking, as the subject user, an arbitrary user specified by an operationof a user that is acquired via an input device of the client device 100.The request information further includes information for specifyingsubject content of the priority information. The subject content isspecified by an operation of a user that is acquired via the inputdevice of the client device 100, for example. The request informationwhich has been generated is provided to the communication unit 171, andis transmitted from the communication unit 171 to the server device 200.

The communication unit 171 is realized by a connection port and acommunication device, for example. The communication unit 171communicates with the server device 200, and transmits thedegree-of-attention information generated by the degree-of-attentioninformation generation unit 105 and the request information generated bythe request information generation unit 107. Furthermore, thecommunication unit 171 receives the priority information from the serverdevice 200. The priority information is information includinginformation on the priority for viewing, for each part of content, of asubject user specified by the request information. The communicationunit 171 provides the received priority information to the digestcreation unit 109.

The content storage unit 151 is realized by a ROM, a RAM and a storagedevice, for example. Data of content that the client device 100 providesto a user is stored in the content storage unit 151. The data of contentmay be acquired from airwaves by using a tuner that is not shown in thedrawing, or may be downloaded from a communication network via acommunication device. The content storage unit 151 provides the data ofcontent to the digest creation unit 109 and the image output unit 111.

The digest creation unit 109 is realized by a CPU, a ROM and a RAM, forexample. The digest creation unit 109 acquires the priority informationthat the communication unit 171 has received from the server device 200and extracts a part, of the content, whose degree of priority is apredetermined value or higher by using the priority information whichhas been acquired, and thereby creates digest content. The digestcreation unit 109 acquires content data of the subject content of thepriority information from the content storage unit 151. Also, the digestcreation unit 109 provides data of the created digest content to theimage output unit 111.

Here, for example, the digest creation unit 109 may automatically createthe digest content in a case the priority information is provided by thecommunication unit 171. Also, the digest creation unit 109 may createthe digest content according to an operation of a user that is acquiredvia the input device of the client device 100. In this case, the digestcreation unit 109 may also be able to create a plurality of types ofdigest content, depending on the designated length of digest content,for example.

The image output unit 111 is realized by a CPU, a GPU, a ROM, and a RAM,for example. The image output unit 111 outputs data of the digestcontent provided by the digest creation unit 109 to the display device10 connected to the client device 100. The image output unit 111 mayalso acquire data of normal content that is not digest content from thecontent storage unit 151 and output it to the display device 10.Furthermore, the image output unit 111 may also output, to the displaydevice 10, an image of an operation screen that is used by a user tooperate the client device 100. The operation screen may also present thepriority information acquired by the communication unit 171 to a user,for example.

(Details of Image Processing Unit)

Next, a functional configuration of the image processing unit 103 of theclient device 100 will be further described with reference to FIG. 2.FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of theimage processing unit 103.

The image processing unit 103 includes a face detection unit 1031, aface tracking unit 1033 and a face identification unit 1035. The faceidentification unit 1035 refers to a DB 153 for face identification. Theimage processing unit 103 acquires image data from the image acquisitionunit 101. Also, the image processing unit 103 provides a user ID foridentifying a user and information regarding a user such as the angle ofthe face, closing of the eyes, gaze direction or the like to thedegree-of-attention information generation unit 105 or the requestinformation generation unit 107.

The face detection unit 1031 is realized by a CPU, a GPU, a ROM and aRAM, for example. The face detection unit 1031 refers to the image dataacquired from the image acquisition unit 101, and detects a face of aperson included in the image. If a face is included in the image, theface detection unit 1031 detects the position, the size or the like ofthe face. Furthermore, the face detection unit 1031 detects the state ofthe face shown by the image. For example, the face detection unit 1031detects a state such as the angle of the face, whether the eyes areclosed or not, or the gaze direction. Additionally, any knowntechnology, such as those described in JP 2007-65766A and JP2005-44330A, can be applied to the processing of the face detection unit1031.

The face tracking unit 1033 is realized by a CPU, a GPU, a ROM and aRAM, for example. The face tracking unit 1033 tracks the face detectedby the face detection unit 1031 over pieces of image data of differentframes acquired from the image acquisition unit 101. The face trackingunit 1033 uses similarity or the like between patterns of the pieces ofimage data of the face detected by the face detection unit 1031, andsearches for a portion corresponding to the face in a following frame.By this processing of the face tracking unit 1033, faces included inimages of a plurality of frames can be recognized as a change over timeof the face of a same user.

The face identification unit 1035 is realized by a CPU, a GPU, a ROM anda RAM, for example. The face identification unit 1035 is a processingunit for performing identification as to which user's face a facedetected by the face detection unit 1031 is. The face identificationunit 1035 calculates a local feature by focusing on a characteristicportion or the like of the face detected by the face detection unit 1031and compares the local feature which has been calculated and a localfeature of a face image of a user stored in advance in the DB 153 forface identification, and thereby identifies the face detected by theface detection unit 1031 and specifies the user ID of the usercorresponding to the face. Additionally, any know technology, such asthose described in JP 2007-65766A and JP 2005-44330A, can be applied tothe processing of the face identification unit 1035.

The DB 153 for face identification is realized by a ROM, a RAM and astorage device, for example. A local feature of a face image of a useris stored in advance in the DB 153 for face identification inassociation with a user ID, for example. The local feature of a faceimage of a user stored in the DB 153 for face identification is referredto by the face identification unit 1035.

(Server Device)

Next, a schematic functional configuration of the server device 200according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing afunctional configuration of the server device 200.

The server device 200 is an example of an information processingapparatus according to the present disclosure, and includes adegree-of-attention information acquisition unit 201, a priorityinformation generation unit 203, a DB 251 for degree of attention, and acommunication unit 271. The server device 200 is realized as a contentinformation providing server installed on a communication network, forexample. Additionally, the server device 200 may be realized as a singledevice or may be realized as a collection of functions provided byresources distributed on a network.

The communication unit 271 is realized by a connection port and acommunication device, for example. The communication unit 271communicates with the client device 100, and receivesdegree-of-attention information and request information generated by theclient device 100. The degree-of-attention information is provided tothe degree-of-attention information acquisition unit 201, and therequest information is provided to the priority information generationunit 203. Also, the communication unit 271 transmits priorityinformation generated by the priority information generation unit 203 tothe client device 100. Additionally, the client device 100 with whichthe communication unit 271 communicates may be more than one, such asclient devices 100 a and 100 b as shown in the drawing, or it may beonly one device.

The degree-of-attention information acquisition unit 201 is realized bya CPU, a ROM and a RAM, for example. The degree-of-attention informationacquisition unit 201 acquires the degree-of-attention information fromthe communication unit 271, and stores the acquired degree-of-attentioninformation in the DB 251 for degree of attention. Thedegree-of-attention information acquisition unit 201 stores the acquireddegree of attention in the DB 251 for degree of attention in associationwith a user and content. Here, the communication unit 271 may receivethe degree-of-attention information from a plurality of client devices100 a and 100 b, and each client device 100 may generate thedegree-of-attention information for a plurality of users U1 and U2.Thus, the degree-of-attention information acquisition unit 201 mayacquire, for one piece of content, the degree-of-attention informationof a plurality of users and store the same in the DB 251 for degree ofattention.

The priority information generation unit 203 is realized by a CPU, a ROMand a RAM, for example. The priority information generation unit 203generates priority information including information on priority forviewing for each part of content by using the degree of attention storedin the DB 251 for degree of attention. The priority informationgeneration unit 203 acquires request information from the communicationunit 271, and generates the priority information in response to theacquired request information. Here, the request information includesinformation on a subject user of the priority information. Accordingly,the priority information generation unit 203 generates priorityinformation including information on priority, for each part of content,of a subject user for viewing. The generated priority information isprovided to the communication unit 271, and is provided by thecommunication unit 271 to the client device 100. Additionally, aconcrete example of calculation of a priority will be described later.

The DB 251 for degree of attention is realized by a ROM, a RAM and astorage device, for example. The degree-of-attention informationacquired by the degree-of-attention information acquisition unit 201 isstored in the DB 251 for degree of attention. As described above, thedegree-of-attention information acquisition unit 201 may acquire thedegree-of-attention information of a plurality of users for one piece ofcontent. Thus, the degree-of-attention information of a plurality ofusers is stored in the DB 251 for degree of attention for each piece ofcontent.

(1-2. Process Flow)

Next, process flows of the first embodiment of the present disclosurewill be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing that is performed when a userviews content in a normal manner using the client device 100. FIG. 5 isa flow chart showing an example of processing that is performed when auser views content in a digest manner using the client device 100.

(Process at the Time of Normal Viewing of Content)

Referring to FIG. 4, first, the image acquisition unit 101 of the clientdevice 100 acquires an image of a user viewing content (step S101). Inthe present embodiment, the image acquisition unit 101 acquires theimage of a user from the camera 20. Here, several users may be includedin the acquired image.

Next, the image processing unit 103 of the client device 100 identifiesa user from the image, and detects a movement of the user (step S103).Here, the image processing unit 103 identifies the user by detecting animage of a face included in the acquired image. Also, the imageprocessing unit 103 acquires, from the acquired image, informationregarding a movement, such as the angle of the face of the user, closingof the eyes, the gaze direction and the like.

Next, the degree-of-attention information generation unit 105 of theclient device 100 calculates a degree of attention for each part of thecontent based on the movement of the user, and generatesdegree-of-attention information (step S105). Here, thedegree-of-attention information generation unit 105 calculates thedegree of attention based on the movement of the user. Thedegree-of-attention information includes, together with the degree ofattention calculated for each part of the content which has been viewedby the user, content information for specifying the content which hasbeen viewed by the user and a user ID for specifying the user.

Next, the communication unit 171 of the client device 100 transmits thegenerated degree-of-attention information to the server device 200 (stepS107). The degree-of-attention information may be collectivelytransmitted from the client device 100 to the server device 200 afterthe user has finished viewing the content, or may be transmitted everytime the degree of attention is calculated for a segment of the content,for example.

Next, the communication unit 271 of the server device 200 receives thedegree-of-attention information from the client device 100, and thedegree-of-attention information acquisition unit 201 acquires thereceived degree-of-attention information and stores the same in the DB251 for degree of attention (step S109). The degree-of-attentioninformation may be acquired for a plurality of pieces of content and fora plurality of users.

(Process at the Time of Digest Viewing of Content)

Referring to FIG. 5, first, the image acquisition unit 101 of the clientdevice 100 acquires an image of a user intending to view digest content(step S201). In the present embodiment, the image acquisition unit 101acquires an image of the user from the camera 20. Here, several usersmay be included in the acquired image. Content that a user is intendingto view is specified by an operation of the user acquired via the inputdevice of the client device 100, for example.

Next, the image processing unit 103 of the client device 100 identifiesthe user from the image (step S203). In the present embodiment, theimage processing unit 103 identifies the user by detecting an image of aface included in the acquired image.

Subsequently, the request information generation unit 107 of the clientdevice 100 generates the request information (step S205). The user ID ofthe user identified from the image is included in the requestinformation as the user ID of a subject user. Further, contentinformation specifying the content that the user is intending to view isalso included in the request information.

Then, the communication unit 171 of the client device 100 transmits therequest information to the server device 200 (step S207). The requestinformation may be transmitted to the server device 200 by a separateoperation of the user acquired via the input device of the client device100, or may be automatically transmitted to the server device 200 by anoperation of the user for content viewing, for example.

Next, the priority information generation unit 203 of the server device200 acquires the request information from the client device 100 via thecommunication unit 271, and generates the priority information inresponse to the acquired request information (step S209). The priorityinformation generation unit 203 uses the degree-of-attention informationstored in the DB 251 for degree of attention for generation of thepriority information. The priority included in the priority informationthat is generated here is the priority of the user specified by the userID of the subject user included in the request information. Furthermore,the content which is the subject of the priority information is contentthat is specified by the content information included in the requestinformation.

Next, the communication unit 271 of the server device 200 transmits thegenerated priority information to the client device 100 (step S211). Inthe present embodiment, the priority information is generated inresponse to the request information from the client device 100, and thusthe generated priority information can be automatically transmitted tothe client device 100.

Subsequently, the digest creation unit 109 of the client device 100acquires the priority information from the server device 200 via thecommunication unit 171, and creates digest content based on the acquiredpriority information (step S213). The digest content here may beautomatically created when priority information is acquired. Also, thedigest content may be created according to conditions, such as a lengthspecified by an operation of the user acquired via the input device ofthe client device 100.

Then, the image output unit 111 of the client device 100 outputs thedigest content to the display device 10 and provides the same to theuser (step S215).

(1-3. Degree-of-Attention Calculation Process)

Next, a degree-of-attention calculation process of the presentembodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 isa diagram showing an example where a degree of attention is calculatedbased on movements of users U1 to U3 detected from an image of the usersU1 to U3 viewing content. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the degree ofattention calculated, in the example of FIG. 6, for each part of thecontent.

Users U1 to U3, who are in the capturing range of the camera 20, areshown in FIG. 6. In this case, being the users viewing the content byusing the display device 10, the users U1 to U3 are made the subjects ofdegree-of-attention calculation by the degree-of-attention informationgeneration unit 105. The degree-of-attention information generation unit105 calculates the degree of attention by using the information providedby the image processing unit 103. For example, the degree-of-attentioninformation generation unit 105 determines that a user is payingattention to the display device 10 in a case the user is not closinghis/her eyes and is looking in the direction of the display device 10.In the example shown in the drawing, none of the users U1 to U3 havetheir eyes closed. However, although the directions of the faces (or thedirections of the gazes) of the users U1 and U2 match the direction ofthe display device 10, the direction of the face (or the direction ofthe gaze) of the user U3 does not match the direction of the displaydevice 10. Thus, the degree-of-attention information generation unit 105determines that the users U1 and U2 are paying attention to the contentbut the user U3 is not paying attention to the content.

The degrees of attention of the users U1 to U3 calculated in the exampleof FIG. 6 are shown in FIG. 7. For example, the degree-of-attentioninformation generation unit 105 determines the degree of attention atone moment by a moving average over several seconds before and after themoment, taking a case where each user is paying attention to the contentas “1” and a case where each user is not paying attention to the contentas “0.” Furthermore, the degree-of-attention information generation unit105 averages the degree of attention on a per-content segment basis. Thedegree of attention thereby takes a fixed value for each segment of thecontent, as shown in the graph of FIG. 7. A segment of content is apart, within the content, with attributes that are relevant to a certaindegree, such as a section in a broadcast program, for example. Forexample, referring to the graph of FIG. 7, it can be seen that thedegree of attention of the user U1 is particularly high in segment A,the degree of attention of the user U3 is high only in segment B withinthe content, and the degree of attention of the user U2 is higher thanthe degree of attention of the user U1 in segment C.

(1-4. Priority Calculation Process)

Next, a priority calculation process of the present embodiment will bedescribed. Any known technology, such as collaborative filtering or CBF(Contents Based Filtering), can be applied to calculation of a priorityby the priority information generation unit 203. In the following, anexample of the collaborative filtering will be described.

In this example, the priority information generation unit 203 calculatesa priority of a user U1, who is the subject user in request information,with respect to content A. The user U1 here is a user who has yet toview the content A. In this case, the priority information generationunit 203 uses degree-of-attention information of other users U2 to U4who have viewed the content A and calculates the priority of the user U1for the content A.

The content A includes segments Seg1 to Seg5, and the degrees ofattention of the users U1 to U4 for each segment are as shown in Table 1below. Since the user U1 is not viewing the content A, the degree ofattention of the user U1 is unknown. Additionally, the degree ofattention in the following explanation is indicated by five levels, from1 to 5, for the sake of simplicity.

TABLE 1 Degree of Attention for Content A Seg1 Seg2 Seg3 Seg4 Seg5 U1 ?? ? ? ? U2 2 2 3 1 2 U3 1 4 5 3 1 U4 2 5 5 2 1

The priority information generation unit 203 calculates the degree ofattention of the user U1 for each segment of the content A by using thedegree of attention, for each segment of the content A, of a user, amongthe users U2 to U4, whose tendency of the distribution of the degree ofattention is similar to that of the user U1. Accordingly, the priorityinformation generation unit 203 uses the degree-of-attention informationfor content B, which is another piece of content that was viewed by allof the users U1 to U4.

The content B includes segments Seg1 to Seg6, and the degrees ofattention of the users U1 to U4 for each segment are as shown in Table 2below.

TABLE 2 Degree of Attention for Content B Seg1 Seg2 Seg3 Seg4 Seg5 Seg6U1 5 2 5 1 2 4 U2 1 5 3 4 5 2 U3 5 2 4 2 2 5 U4 4 1 4 1 2 4

The priority information generation unit 203 calculates, with respect tothe content B, the similarity of the degree-of-attention distributionsbetween the user U1 and each of the other users U2 to U4. A similarityS_(UmUn) of the degree-of-attention distributions between a use Um and auser Un is calculated by the following formula 1. Additionally, Am_(i)and An_(i) are the degrees of attention, for an i-th segment Segi, ofthe user Um and the user Un, respectively. Also, Am_(avg) and An_(ang)are average values of the degree of attention, for each segment, of theuser Um and the user Un, respectively.

$\begin{matrix}{S_{UmUn} = \frac{\sum\limits_{i}\; {\left( {{Am}_{i} - {Am}_{avg}} \right)\left( {{An}_{i} - {An}_{avg}} \right)}}{\sqrt{\sum\limits_{i}\; \left( {{Am}_{i} - {Am}_{avg}} \right)^{2}}\sqrt{\sum\limits_{i}\; \left( {{An}_{i} - {An}_{avg}} \right)^{2}}}} & \left( {{Form}\; {ula}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right)\end{matrix}$

As a result of calculation, the similarity S_(U1U2) between the user U1and the U2 is −0.81, the similarity S_(U1U3) between the user U1 and theuser U3 is 0.90, and the similarity S_(U1U4) between the user U1 and theuser U4 is 0.95. It can be seen from these results that, with respect tothe content B, the tendencies of the distributions of the degrees ofattention are contrasting between the user U1 and the user U2, but thetendencies of the distributions of the degrees of attention are similarfor the user U1 and the user U3 and for the user U1 and the user U4. Thetendencies of the distributions of the degrees of attention aredetermined to be similar when the similarity S_(UmUn) is a predeterminedthreshold value or higher, for example.

Additionally, in the above example, an explanation has been given withrespect to a single piece of content, but in a case there are aplurality of pieces of content which the users U1 to U4 all viewed, forexample, the degrees of attention are serially arranged for the segmentsof each piece of content and the above formula 1 is applied, and thesimilarity S_(UmUn) of the degree-of-attention distributions between theusers is calculated.

The priority information generation unit 203 calculates the priority ofthe user U1 for the content A based on this result. To be specific, thepriority information generation unit 203 uses, with respect to thecontent B, the degrees of attention, for the content A, of the users U3and U4 whose tendencies regarding the segment to which attention ispaid, that is, of the distributions of attention, are similar to that ofthe user U1. The priority of the user U1 for each segment of the contentA is calculated by the following formula 2. Additionally, A, is thedegree of attention of the user U1 for an i-th segment Segi. A_(avg) isan average value of the degree of attention of the user U1 for a programwhich has been viewed by the user U1 as well as the users U2 to U4.Simil is a group of users whose distributions of the degree of attentionfor a program viewed in common are similar to that of the user U1, thatis, a group of users whose degrees of attention are correlated with thatof the user U1. J is each user included in the group Simil, and is, inthis example, the users U3 and U4. A_(Ji) is the degree of attention ofa user J for the i-th segment Segi. A_(Javg) is an average value of thedegree of attention of the user J. S_(AJ) is a similarity between theuser U1 and the user J obtained by the above formula 1.

$\begin{matrix}{A_{i} = {A_{avg} + \frac{\sum\limits_{J \in {Simil}}\; {\left( {A_{Ji} - A_{Javg}} \right)S_{AJ}}}{\sum\limits_{J}\; {S_{AJ}}}}} & \left( {{Formula}\mspace{14mu} 2} \right)\end{matrix}$

(1-5. Digest Content Creation Process)

Next, a digest content creation process of the present embodiment willbe described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. FIG. 8 is a diagram forconceptually describing creation of digest content in the presentembodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an operationscreen that is displayed for creation of digest content in the presentembodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of theoperation screen that is displayed for creation of digest content in thepresent embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8, a similar user group 1, a similar user group 2, asegment score and content meta-information are shown. The similar usergroup 1 and the similar user group 2 are each a group of users withsimilar tendencies of distributions of the degrees of attention,according to the collaborative filtering described above. The subjectuser of the priority information is assumed to be included in thesimilar user group 1. In this case, a segment score of the similar usergroup 1 is included in the priority information as the priority of thesubject user. The segment score is a score showing the level of priorityof each segment of content. The digest creation unit 109 creates digestcontent by extracting segments whose priorities indicated by the segmentscore are a predetermined value or higher. The digest creation unit 109may also refer to content meta-information including the title of thecontent, date and time of broadcast, start/end time of each segment, thetitle of each segment and the like. In the example shown in the drawing,a segment group A and a segment group B are specified as the parts to beextracted for digest content creation.

Here, the user's main purpose for creating the digest content is toshorten the time or to reduce the file size. Thus, the digest contentcan be created in various modes. For example, the digest creation unit109 may create the digest content in an image quality priority mode thatextracts parts of content with high level of priority in such a way thatthe image quality is not sacrificed and the length is within a specifiedlength. Also, the digest creation unit 109 may create the digest contentin an information amount priority mode that extracts, into a specifiedfile size, as many parts as possible by reducing the image quality ofsegments with low degree of attention to a predetermined image quality.Furthermore, the digest creation unit 109 may create the digest contentin a degree-of-attention priority mode that deletes segments that arebelow a specified segment score, regardless of the length or the filesize.

Besides the above, the digest creation unit 109 may create the digestcontent while reflecting various conditions set by an operation of theuser. An example of an operation screen that is displayed for setting ofconditions by an operation of the user will be described below.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, it is possible to select, on anoperation screen, from among a case where content is viewed as it iswithout creation of digest content (“no” of Digest), a case where digestcontent, excluding only the commercial portions, is created (“cm cut” ofDigest), a case where comparatively long digest content is created(“long” of Digest), a case where digest content with a medium length iscreated (“middle” of Digest), and a case where comparatively shortdigest content is created (“short” of Digest). Further, it is alsopossible to select, on the operation screen, from

among a case where the speed of content viewing is normal (Play Speed is“×1.0”), a case where the speed of content viewing is made slower (PlaySpeed is “×0.5”), and a case where the speed of content viewing is madefaster (Play Speed is “×1.5”). Parts in the drawing indicated by thearrows are parts to be extracted for creation of digest content afterthe length of digest content and the speed of content viewing have beenselected. In this manner, the digest creation unit 109 may adjust partsto be extracted for creation of digest content according to conditionsspecified by an operation of the user.

Further, in another example shown in FIG. 10, it is possible to select,on the operation screen, digest content from three lengths(comparatively short “Digest (5 min.)”, a medium-length “Digest (10min.)”, and a comparatively long “Digest (30 min.)”). Also, a list ofsegments of content is displayed on the operation screen. This listincludes items: a start time (START), an end time (END), a segment name(SEGMENT), a segment score (SCORE), which is a priority, display ofwhether each segment is included in a piece of digest content or not (5min, 10 min., 30 min.), and a thumbnail image (MOVIE) selection of whichcauses a segment to be reproduced. With the information on each segmentof content and the relation of each segment and digest content beingdisplayed in this manner, the user is allowed to grasp parts of contentincluded in various types of digest content and then to select digestcontent to be viewed. Additionally, a plurality of types (three in theexample shown in the drawing) of digest content may be created inadvance by the digest creation unit 109, or may be created by the digestcreation unit 109 after the user has performed selection using theoperation screen.

(1-6. Modified Example)

Next, a modified example of the present embodiment will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing anexample of an operation screen that is displayed in a modified exampleof the present embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another exampleof the operation screen that is displayed in the modified example of thepresent embodiment.

In the modified example of the present embodiment, instead of assuming auser identified by the image processing unit 103 from an image of a faceas a subject user, the request information generation unit 107 assumes auser specified by an operation of a user acquired via the input deviceof the client device 100 as a subject user, and generates requestinformation. In this case, the subject user may be a user, differentfrom the user operating the client device 100, who has already viewedsubject content. Accordingly, priority information may include theinformation on the priority of this other user. Also, the digestcreation unit 109 may create digest content according to the priority ofthis other user.

In the example shown in FIG. 11, segment scores of five users (user A,user B, user C, user D and user E) are displayed on the operationscreen, together with segment information of content for which digestcontent is to be created. A user can select any of the five users whoare displayed and view digest content that is in accordance with thedegree of attention of the selected user.

Furthermore, in another example shown in FIG. 12, segment scores of fivegenres (general, economics, culture, society and art) are displayed onthe operation screen, together with segment information of content forwhich digest content is to be created. The segment score of a genre maybe created by totaling segment scores of each user based on a genre thateach user has registered in advance and that the user himself/herself ishighly interested in, for example. A user can select any of the fivegenres and view digest content that is in accordance with the degree ofattention of a user who is highly interested in the selected genre.

(1-7. Summary)

According to the first embodiment, which has been described above, thereis provided a server device which includes a communication unit forreceiving from a client device degree-of-attention information includingthe degree of attention, for each part of first content, calculatedbased on the state of viewing of a user, and a priority informationgeneration unit for generating, using the degree-of-attentioninformation, priority information including information on a priorityfor viewing for each part of second content, where the communicationunit transmits the priority information to the client device.

In this case, by calculating the priority for viewing for each part ofcontent by using the degree-of-attention for each part of another pieceof content, for example, the priority for viewing reflecting the levelof interest of a user can be set for a wide range of content.

Furthermore, the communication unit may receive from the client devicerequest information requesting provision of the priority information,the request information may include information on a subject user, andthe priority information generation unit may generate the priorityinformation including the information on a priority of the subject user,in response to the request information.

In this case, the priority information may be generated in accordancewith the timing of viewing of content at the client device and may beprovided to the client device, for example. Also, by a subject userbeing specified, the priority information particularly suitable for theuser can be provided.

Furthermore, the subject user may be the user who has viewed the firstcontent but not the second content.

In this case, appropriate priority information can be provided, withrespect to content which has not been viewed by a user to whom thepriority information is to be provided, by filtering of thedegree-of-attention information of content which has been viewed by theuser or by another user in the past.

Furthermore, the subject user may be the user who has viewed the secondcontent.

In this case, priority information that is based on a content viewingresult of an arbitrary user, such as a friend or a person interested ina particular genre, specified by a user who is to view content can beprovided to the user, for example.

Additionally, at this time, the first content and the second content mayindicate the same content. Also, a client device that provides thedegree-of-attention information and a client device which is providedwith the priority information may be different client devices.

Furthermore, the degree of attention may be calculated based on amovement of the user detected from an image of the user viewing thefirst content.

In this case, information on the degree of attention can beautomatically acquired from an image of a user viewing content, forexample, and the generated degree-of-attention information can be moreeasily collected.

The user may be identified based on a face included in the image.

In this case, a user can be automatically identified from an image of auser viewing content, for example, and the user's correspondingdegree-of-attention information cam be more easily collected.

Furthermore, according to the first embodiment described above, there isprovided a client device which includes a degree-of-attentioninformation generation unit for generating degree-of-attentioninformation including information on the degree of attention, for eachpart of first content, calculated based on the state of viewing of auser, and a communication unit for transmitting the degree-of-attentioninformation to a server device, and receiving from the server devicepriority information, including information on a priority for viewingfor each part of second content, generated using the degree-of-attentioninformation.

In this case, by providing the degree of attention for each part ofcontent which has been viewed and also by acquiring priorityinformation, for content which has not been viewed, generated using theinformation on the degree of attention which has been provided, forexample, the priority for viewing reflecting the level of interest of auser can be acquired for a wide range of content.

Also, the client device may further include a request informationgeneration unit for generating request information requesting provisionof the priority information, where the request information may includeinformation on a subject user, and where the communication unit maytransmit the request information to the server device, and receive fromthe server device the priority information, including the information ona priority of the subject user, generated in response to the requestinformation.

In this case, the priority information may be acquired from the serverdevice in accordance with the timing of viewing of content, for example.Also, by a subject user being specified, the priority informationparticularly suitable for the user can be acquired.

Furthermore, the client device may include a digest creation unit forcreating digest content by extracting a part, of the second content, forwhich the priority is a predetermined value or higher, an output unitfor outputting the digest content for viewing by the user, and an imageacquisition unit for acquiring an image of the user viewing the digestcontent, where the request information generation unit may generate therequest information, taking a user identified based on a face includedin the image as a subject user.

In this case, digest content can be created by extracting parts withhigh level of priority for a viewing user, for example. Therefore, thedigest content can be adapted in real time to suit the viewing user.

Also, the client device may further include an output unit foroutputting the first content for viewing by the user, and an imageacquisition unit for acquiring an image of the user viewing the firstcontent, where the degree of attention may be calculated based on amovement of the user detected from the image.

In this case, the information on the degree of attention can beautomatically generated from an image of a user viewing content, forexample, and the degree-of-attention information can be easilygenerated.

Furthermore, the user may be identified based on a face included in theimage.

In this case, a user can be automatically identified from an image of auser viewing content, for example, and a user's correspondingdegree-of-attention information can be easily collected.

2. Second Embodiment

According to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, a user viewscontent using a mobile device 300, which is a mobile phone or a tabletPC, for example. The mobile device 300 generates degree-of-attentioninformation including information on the degree of attention for eachpart of content, based on the state of viewing of the user, and, whenconnected to a client device 600, transmits the degree-of-attentioninformation to the server device 200 via the client device 600. Theserver device 200 stores the received degree-of-attention information ina database.

Also, the client device 600 generates, for content to be viewed by theuser using the connected mobile device 300, request informationrequesting provision of priority information including information on apriority for viewing for each part of content, and transmits the same tothe server device 200. The server device 200 generates the priorityinformation using the degree-of-attention information stored in thedatabase, in response to the received request information, and transmitsthe same to the client device 600. The client device 600 transfers thereceived priority information to the mobile device 300. The mobiledevice 300 generates, by using the priority information which has beentransferred, digest content obtained by extracting parts, of content,with high priorities, for example, and provides it to the user.

Additionally, the present embodiment differs from the first embodimentdescribed above in that a user views content using the mobile device 300and in that the client device 600 generates the request information forthe mobile device 300 and transfers the priority information to themobile device 300. The present embodiment is approximately the same inother aspects as the first embodiment described above, and therefore, adetailed explanation is omitted.

(2-1. Functional Configuration)

(Mobile Device)

First, a schematic functional configuration of the mobile device 300according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showinga functional configuration of the mobile device 300.

The mobile device 300 is an example of an information processingapparatus according to the present disclosure, and includes an operationunit 301, an operation log acquisition unit 303, a degree-of-attentioninformation generation unit 305, a digest creation unit 307, an imageoutput unit 309, a display unit 311, a content storage unit 351 and acommunication unit 371. The mobile device 300 is realized as a mobileappliance having a content playback function, such as a mobile phone ora tablet PC, for example.

The operation unit 301 is realized by an input device, for example. Theoperation unit 301 accepts an operation of a user for viewing ofcontent. An operation of a user for viewing of content may be anoperation such as play, stop, pause, fast-forward, rewind, skip or thelike, for example. A log of operation accepted by the operation unit 301is acquired by the operation log acquisition unit 303.

The operation log acquisition unit 303 is realized by a CPU, a ROM and aRAM, for example. The operation log acquisition unit 303 acquires a logof operation, accepted by the operation unit 301, for content viewing bythe user. The operation log acquisition unit 303 acquires, as the log,at which part of content operations of fast-forward and skip have beenperformed by the user, for example. The operation log acquisition unit303 outputs the acquired log of operation to the degree-of-attentioninformation generation unit 305.

The degree-of-attention information generation unit 305 is realized by aCPU, a ROM and a RAM, for example. The degree-of-attention informationgeneration unit 305 generates, using the log of operation provided bythe operation log acquisition unit 303, degree-of-attention informationincluding information on the degree of attention, for each part ofcontent, calculated based on the state of viewing of a user. Forexample, the degree-of-attention information generation unit 305determines that the degree of attention of a user is comparatively lowfor a part of content which is indicated by the log of operation to havebeen fast-forwarded or skipped. The degree-of-attention informationgeneration unit 305 may acquire content information of content which hasbeen viewed by a user, and average the degrees of attention for eachsegment of content. Information specifying a user and content isincluded in the degree-of-attention information. Here, the informationspecifying a user is acquired from owner information of the mobiledevice 300. The generated degree-of-attention information is provided tothe communication unit 371.

The communication unit 371 is realized by a connection port and acommunication device, for example. The communication unit 371communicates with the client device 600, and transmits thedegree-of-attention information generated by the degree-of-attentioninformation generation unit 305. The degree-of-attention information isfurther transferred from the client device 600 to the server device 200.Further, the communication unit 371 receives priority information fromthe client device 600. The priority information is information includinginformation on a priority for viewing for each part of content, and isgenerated by the server device 200 and transmitted to the client device600. The communication unit 371 provides the received priorityinformation to the digest creation unit 307.

The digest creation unit 307 is realized by a CPU, a ROM and a RAM, forexample. The digest creation unit 307 acquires the priority informationthat the communication unit 371 has received from the client device 600and extracts a part, of the content, whose degree of priority is apredetermined value or higher by using the acquired priorityinformation, and thereby creates digest content. The digest creationunit 307 acquires content data of subject content of the priorityinformation from the content storage unit 351. Also, the digest creationunit 307 provides the created digest content to the image output unit309. For example, the digest creation unit 307 may automatically createthe digest content when the priority information is provided by thecommunication unit 371. Also, the digest creation unit 307 may createthe digest content according to an operation of a user acquired via aninput device of the client device 600. In this case, the digest creationunit 307 may be able to create a plurality of types of digest content,depending on the designated length of digest content, for example.

The image output unit 309 is realized by a CPU, a GPU, a ROM and a RAM,for example. The image output unit 309 outputs an image of the digestcontent provided by the digest creation unit 307 to the display unit311. Also, the image output unit 309 may acquire data of normal content,which is not digest content, from the content storage unit 351, andoutput the same to the display unit 311. The image output unit 309 mayoutput to the display unit 311 an image of an operation screen that isused by a user for operation of the mobile device 300. The operationscreen may present the priority information acquired by thecommunication unit 371 to the user, for example.

The display unit 311 is realized by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) oran organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, for example. The displayunit 311 displays an image provided by the image output unit 309.

The content storage unit 351 is realized by a ROM, a RAM and a storagedevice, for example. Data of content that the mobile device 300 providesto a user is stored in the content storage unit 351. The data of contentmay be acquired from airwaves by using a tuner that is not shown in thedrawing, or may be downloaded from a communication network via acommunication device.

(Client Device)

Next, a schematic functional configuration of the client device 600according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showinga functional configuration of the client device 600. The client device600 has a functional configuration that is approximately the same as theclient device 100 according to the first embodiment except for a requestinformation generation unit 607 and a communication unit 671, andtherefor, a detailed explanation is omitted for the approximately sameparts.

The request information generation unit 607 has, in addition to orinstead of the function of the request information generation unit 107of the client device 100 according to the first embodiment, a functionof generating request information taking a user who is to view contentusing the mobile device 300 as a subject user.

The request information generation unit 607 acquires owner informationof the mobile device 300 that the communication unit 671 has received,and sets request information taking a user identified based on the ownerinformation as the subject user. The generated request information isprovided to the communication unit 671, and is transmitted from thecommunication unit 671 to the server device 200.

The communication unit 671 has, in addition to the function of thecommunication unit 171 of the client device 100 according to the firstembodiment, a function of communicating with the mobile device 300. Thecommunication unit 671 receives degree-of-attention information from themobile device 300, and transfers the same to the server device 200.Also, the communication unit 671 receives owner information of themobile device 300 from the mobile device 300, and provides the same tothe request information generation unit 607. The communication unit 671transmits to the server device 200 request information generated by therequest information generation unit 607. Furthermore, the communicationunit 671 receives priority information from the server device 200, andtransfers the same to the mobile device 300.

(2-2. Process Flow)

Next, examples of a process flow of the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16. FIG. 15is a flow chart showing an example of processing that is performed whena user views content in a normal manner using the mobile device 300.FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing an example of processing that isperformed when a user views content in a digest manner using the mobiledevice 300.

(Process at the Time of Normal Viewing of Content)

Referring to FIG. 15, first, the operation log acquisition unit 303 ofthe mobile device 300 acquires a log of operation of a user for contentviewing (step S301). As described above, a log of operation is a log ofoperation performed at the time of a user viewing content displayed onthe display unit 311 of the mobile device 300, such as play,fast-forward, skip or the like.

Next, the degree-of-attention information generation unit 305 of themobile device 300 calculates the degree of attention for each part ofcontent based on the log of operation, and generates thedegree-of-attention information (step S303). Here, thedegree-of-attention information generation unit 305 calculates thedegree of attention by determining, for example, that the degree ofattention is low for a part which has been fast-forwarded or skipped,based on the log of operation. The degree-of-attention informationincludes, in addition to the degree of attention which has beencalculated, content information specifying the content the user hasviewed and a user ID specifying the user.

Then, the communication unit 371 of the mobile device 300 transmits thegenerated degree-of-attention information to the client device 600 (stepS305). The degree-of-attention information may be collectivelytransmitted from the mobile device 300 to the client device 600 afterthe user has finished viewing the content, or may be transmitted everytime the degree of attention is calculated for a segment of the content,for example.

Next, the communication unit 671 of the client device 600 transfers thedegree-of-attention information received from the mobile device 300 tothe server device 200 (step S307).

Next, the communication unit 271 of the server device 200 receives thedegree-of-attention information from the client device 600, and thedegree-of-attention information acquisition unit 201 acquires thereceived degree-of-attention information and stores the same in the DB251 for degree of attention (step S309). The degree-of-attentioninformation may be acquired for a plurality of users with respect to aplurality of pieces of content.

(Process at the Time of Digest Viewing)

Referring to FIG. 16, first, the communication unit 671 of the clientdevice 600 receives owner information of the mobile device 300 from themobile device 300, and the request information generation unit 607identifies the owner of the mobile device 300 as the user, based on thereceived owner information (step S401).

Next, the communication unit 671 of the client device 600 generatesrequest information (step S403). The request information includes, asthe user ID of a subject user, the user ID of the user who has beenidentified based on the owner information of the mobile device 300.Also, content information specifying content which the user intends toview on the mobile device 300 is also included.

Then, the communication unit 671 of the client device 600 transmits therequest information to the server device 200 (step S405). The requestinformation may be transmitted to the server device 200 by a separateoperation of the user acquired via the input device of the client device600, or may be automatically transmitted to the server device 200 withthe connection of the mobile device 300 to the client device 600 as thetrigger, for example.

Subsequently, the priority information generation unit 203 of the serverdevice 200 receives the request information from the client device 600via the communication unit 271, and generates priority information inresponse to the acquired request information (step S407). The priorityinformation generation unit 203 uses the degree-of-attention informationstored in the DB 251 for degree of attention to generate the priorityinformation. The priority included in the priority information that isgenerated here is the priority of a user who is specified by the user IDof the subject user included in the request information. Furthermore,the content which is the subject of the priority information is contentthat is specified by the content information included in the requestinformation.

Next, the communication unit 271 of the server device 200 transmits thegenerated priority information to the client device 600 (step S409). Inthe present embodiment, the priority information is generated inresponse to the request information from the client device 600, and thusthe generated priority information can be automatically transmitted tothe client device 600.

Then, the communication unit 671 of the client device 600 transfers thedegree-of-attention information received from the server device 200 tothe mobile device 300 (step S411).

Next, the digest creation unit 307 of the mobile device 300 acquires thepriority information from the client device 600 via the communicationunit 371, and creates digest content based on the acquired priorityinformation (step S413). The digest content here may be automaticallycreated when the priority information is acquired. Also, the digestcontent may be created according to conditions, such as a lengthspecified by an operation of the user acquired via the input device ofthe client device 100.

Next, the image output unit 309 of the mobile device 300 outputs thedigest content to the display unit 311, and provides the same to theuser (step S415).

(2-3. Modified Example)

Next, a modified example of the present embodiment will be described.

According to a modified example of the present embodiment, thecommunication unit 371 of the mobile device 300 directly communicateswith the communication unit 271 of the server device 200 by wirelesscommunication or the like. In this case, request information requestingpriority information is generated not by the client device 600 but bythe mobile device 300. That is, in the modified example, the mobiledevice 300 includes a request information generation unit that issimilar to the request information generation unit 607 of the clientdevice 600 described above. Also, the communication unit 371 of themobile device 300 transmits degree-of-attention information and therequest information to the server device 200, and receives priorityinformation from the server device 200.

Additionally, in this modified example, since the client device 600 doesnot have to communicate with the mobile device 300, it may havesubstantially the same functional configuration as the client device 100of the first embodiment described above, for example, or it does nothave to exist.

(2-4. Summary)

According to the second embodiment described above, there is provided aserver device which includes a communication unit for receiving from amobile device (via a client device, if necessary) degree-of-attentioninformation including the degree of attention, for each part of firstcontent, calculated based on the state of viewing, on a mobile device,of a user, and a priority information generation unit for generating,using the degree-of-attention information, priority informationincluding information on a priority for viewing for each part of secondcontent, where the communication unit transmits the priority informationto the mobile device (via the client device, if necessary), and wherethe degree of attention is calculated based on a log of operation of theuser for the mobile device.

In this case, by calculating the degree of attention, regarding viewing,for each part of content by using the degree of attention of a usercalculated based on the state of fast-forwarding or skipping at a mobiledevice, for example, the priority for viewing reflecting the level ofinterest of the user at the time of mobile viewing can be set for a widerange of content.

Also, a user may be identified from owner information of the mobiledevice.

In this case, the user can be automatically identified from the ownerinformation of the mobile device, and the user's correspondingdegree-of-attention information can be easily collected, or thedegree-of-attention information particularly suitable to the user can beprovided, for example.

Furthermore, according to the second embodiment described above, thereis provided a mobile device which includes a degree-of-attentioninformation generation unit for generating degree-of-attentioninformation including information on the degree of attention, for eachpart of first content, calculated based on the state of viewing of auser, and a communication unit for transmitting the degree-of-attentioninformation to a server device (via a client device, if necessary), andreceiving from the server device (via the client device, if necessary)priority information, including information on a priority for viewingfor each part of second content, generated using the degree-of-attentioninformation, where the mobile device further includes an output unit foroutputting the first content for viewing by the user, and an operationlog acquisition unit for acquiring a log of operation of the user forviewing of the first content, where the degree of attention iscalculated based on the log of operation.

In this case, by calculating the degree of attention, regarding viewing,for each part of content by using the degree of attention of a usercalculated based on the state of fast-forwarding or skipping at a mobiledevice, for example, the priority for viewing reflecting the level ofinterest of the user at the time of mobile viewing can be set for a widerange of content.

Furthermore, the user may be identified from owner information of themobile device.

In this case, the user can be automatically identified from the ownerinformation of the mobile device, and the user's correspondingdegree-of-attention information can be easily provided, or thedegree-of-attention information particularly suitable to the user can beacquired, for example.

3. Hardware Configuration

Next, a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus900 that realizes the functions of the client devices 100 and 600, theserver devices 200 and 700, and the mobile device 300 according torespective embodiments described above will be described in detail withreference to FIG. 17. FIG. 17 is a block diagram for describing ahardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 900according to each of the embodiments.

The information processing apparatus 900 includes a CPU 901, a ROM 903,and a RAM 905. Furthermore, the information processing apparatus 900 mayalso include a host bus 907, a bridge 909, and external bus 911, aninterface 913, an input device 915, an output device 917, a storagedevice 919, a drive 921, a connection port 923, and a communicationdevice 925.

The CPU 901 functions as a processing device and a control device, andcontrols the overall operation or a part of the operation of theinformation processing apparatus 900 according to various programsrecorded in the ROM 903, the RAM 905, the storage device 919 or aremovable recording medium 927. The ROM 903 stores programs to be usedby the CPU 901, processing parameters and the like. The RAM 905temporarily stores programs to be used in the execution of the CPU 901,parameters that vary in the execution, and the like. The CPU 901, theROM 903 and the RAM 905 are connected to one another through the hostbus 907 configured by an internal bus such as a CPU bus.

The host bus 907 is connected to the external bus 911 such as a PCI(Peripheral Component Interconnect/Interface) bus via the bridge 909.

The input device 915 is input means to be operated by a user, such as amouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, a button, a switch, a lever or thelike. Further, the input device 915 may be remote control means thatuses an infrared or another radio wave, or it may be anexternally-connected appliance 929 such as a mobile phone, a PDA or thelike conforming to the operation of the information processing apparatus900. Furthermore, the input device 915 is configured from an inputcontrol circuit or the like for generating an input signal based oninformation input by a user with the operation means described above andoutputting the signal to the CPU 901. A user of the informationprocessing apparatus 900 can input various kinds of data to theinformation processing apparatus 900 or instruct the informationprocessing apparatus 900 to perform processing, by operating the inputdevice 915.

The output device 917 is configured from a device that is capable ofvisually or auditorily notifying a user of acquired information.Examples of such device include a display device such as a CRT displaydevice, a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display device, an ELdisplay device or a lamp, an audio output device such as a speaker or aheadphone, a printer, a mobile phone, a facsimile and the like. Theoutput device 917 outputs results obtained by various processesperformed by the information processing apparatus 900, for example. Tobe specific, the display device displays, in the form of text or image,results obtained by various processes performed by the informationprocessing apparatus 900. On the other hand, the audio output deviceconverts an audio signal such as reproduced audio data or acoustic datainto an analogue signal, and outputs the analogue signal.

The storage device 919 is a device for storing data configured as anexample of a storage unit of the information processing apparatus 900.The storage device 919 is configured from, for example, a magneticstorage device such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a semiconductor storagedevice, an optical storage device, or a magneto-optical storage device.This storage device 919 stores programs to be executed by the CPU 901,various types of data, and various types of data obtained from theoutside, for example.

The drive 921 is a reader/writer for a recording medium, and isincorporated in or attached externally to the information processingapparatus 900. The drive 921 reads information recorded in the attachedremovable recording medium 927 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk,a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, and outputs theinformation to the RAM 905. Furthermore, the drive 921 can write in theattached removable recording medium 927 such as a magnetic disk, anoptical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory. Theremovable recording medium 927 is, for example, a DVD medium, an HD-DVDmedium, or a Blu-ray (registered trademark) medium. The removablerecording medium 927 may be a CompactFlash (CF; registered trademark), aflash memory, an SD memory card (Secure Digital Memory Card), or thelike. Alternatively, the removable recording medium 927 may be, forexample, an electronic appliance or an IC card (Integrated Circuit Card)equipped with a non-contact IC chip.

The connection port 923 is a port for allowing devices to directlyconnect to the information processing apparatus 900. Examples of theconnection port 923 include a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port, an IEEE1394 port, a SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) port, and the like.Other examples of the connection port 923 include an RS-232C port, anoptical audio terminal, an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface)port, and the like. With the externally connected apparatus 929connected to this connection port 923, the information processingapparatus 900 directly obtains various types of data from the externallyconnected apparatus 929, and provides various types of data to theexternally connected apparatus 929.

The communication device 925 is a communication interface configuredfrom, for example, a communication device for connecting to acommunication network 931. The communication device 925 is, for example,a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a Bluetooth (registeredtrademark), a communication card for WUSB (Wireless USB), or the like.Alternatively, the communication device 925 may be a router for opticalcommunication, a router for ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), amodem for various communications, or the like. This communication device925 can transmit and receive signals and the like in accordance with apredetermined protocol, such as TCP/IP, on the Internet and with othercommunication devices, for example. The communication network 931connected to the communication device 925 is configured from a networkor the like connected via wire or wirelessly, and may be, for example,the Internet, a home LAN, infrared communication, radio wavecommunication, satellite communication or the like.

Heretofore, an example of the hardware configuration of the informationprocessing apparatus 900 has been shown. Each of the structural elementsdescribed above may be configured using a general-purpose material, ormay be configured from hardware dedicated to the function of eachstructural element. Accordingly, the hardware configuration to be usedcan be changed as appropriate according to the technical level at thetime of carrying out each of the embodiments described above.

4. Supplement

Functional configurations of the client device, the server device andthe mobile device have been described in each of the embodimentsdescribed above, but the present technology is not limited to thoseexamples. For example, generation of the degree-of-attention informationand generation of the request information may be performed by the serverdevice. Up to which process is to be performed by which device withrespect to the process of generating the degree-of-attention informationfrom the state of viewing and the process of generating the priorityinformation from the accumulated pieces of degree-of-attentioninformation can be appropriately set as necessary.

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

(1) An information processing apparatus including:

a communication unit for receiving, from an external device,degree-of-attention information including information on a degree ofattention, for each part of first content, calculated based on a stateof viewing of a user; and

a priority information generation unit for generating, using thedegree-of-attention information, priority information includinginformation on a priority for viewing for each part of second content,

wherein the communication unit transmits the priority information to theexternal device.

(2) The information processing apparatus according to (1) describedabove,

wherein the communication unit receives, from the external device,request information requesting provision of the priority information,

wherein the request information includes information on a subject user,and

wherein the priority information generation unit generates the priorityinformation including the information on a priority of the subject user,in response to the request information.

(3) The information processing apparatus according to (2) describedabove, wherein the subject user is the user who has viewed the firstcontent but not the second content.(4) The information processing apparatus according to (2) describedabove, wherein the subject user is the user who has viewed the secondcontent.(5) The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to(4) described above, wherein the degree of attention is calculated basedon a movement of the user detected from an image of the user viewing thefirst content.(6) The information processing apparatus according to (5) describedabove, wherein the user is identified based on a face included in theimage.(7) The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to(4) described above, wherein the degree of attention is calculated basedon a log of operation, of a device, of the user for viewing of the firstcontent.(8) The information processing apparatus according to (7) describedabove, wherein the user is identified from owner information of thedevice.(9) An information processing apparatus including:

a degree-of-attention information generation unit for generatingdegree-of-attention information including information on a degree ofattention, for each part of first content, calculated based on a stateof viewing of a user; and

a communication unit for transmitting the degree-of-attentioninformation to an external device, and receiving, from the externaldevice, priority information, including information on a priority forviewing for each part of second content, generated using thedegree-of-attention information.

(10) The information processing apparatus according to (9) describedabove, further including:

a request information generation unit for generating request informationrequesting provision of the priority information,

wherein the request information includes information on a subject user,and

wherein the communication unit transmits the request information to theexternal device, and receives, from the external device, the priorityinformation, including the information on a priority of the subjectuser, generated in response to the request information.

(11) The information processing apparatus according to (10) describedabove, further including:

a digest creation unit for creating digest content by extracting a part,of the second content, for which the priority is a predetermined valueor higher;

an output unit for outputting the digest content for viewing by theuser; and

an image acquisition unit for acquiring an image of the user viewing thedigest content,

wherein the request information generation unit generates the requestinformation, taking a user identified based on a face included in theimage as a subject user.

(12) The information processing apparatus according to any one of (9) to(11) described above, further including:

an output unit for outputting the first content for viewing by the user;and

an image acquisition unit for acquiring an image of the user viewing thefirst content,

wherein the degree of attention is calculated based on a movement of theuser detected from the image.

(13) The information processing apparatus according to (12) describedabove, wherein the user is identified based on a face included in theimage.(14) The information processing apparatus according to (9) describedabove, further including:

an output unit for outputting the first content for viewing by the user;and

an operation log acquisition unit for acquiring a log of operation ofthe user for viewing of the first content,

wherein the degree of attention is calculated based on the log ofoperation.

(15) The information processing apparatus according to (14) describedabove, wherein the user is identified from owner information of theinformation processing apparatus.(16) An information processing method including:

receiving, from an external device, degree-of-attention informationincluding information on a degree of attention, for each part of firstcontent, calculated based on a state of viewing of a user;

generating, using the degree-of-attention information, priorityinformation including information on a priority for viewing for eachpart of second content; and

transmitting the priority information to the external device.

(17) An information processing method including:

generating degree-of-attention information including information on adegree of attention, for each part of first content, calculated based ona state of viewing of a user;

transmitting the degree-of-attention information to an external device;and

receiving, from the external device, priority information, includinginformation on a priority for viewing for each part of second content,generated using the degree-of-attention information.

(18) A program for causing a computer to function as:

a communication unit for receiving, from an external device,degree-of-attention information including information on a degree ofattention, for each part of first content, calculated based on a stateof viewing of a user; and

a priority information generation unit for generating, using thedegree-of-attention information, priority information includinginformation on a priority for viewing for each part of second content,

wherein the communication unit transmits the priority information to theexternal device.

(19) A program for causing a computer to function as:

a degree-of-attention information generation unit for generatingdegree-of-attention information including information on a degree ofattention, for each part of first content, calculated based on a stateof viewing of a user; and

a communication unit for transmitting the degree-of-attentioninformation to an external device, and receiving, from the externaldevice, priority information, including information on a priority forviewing for each part of second content, generated using thedegree-of-attention information.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1. (canceled)
 2. An information processing apparatus comprising:processing circuitry configured to store first information indicating adegree of attention for a segment of a first content based on a state ofviewing of a first user and a second user, store second informationindicating a degree of attention for a segment of a second content basedon a state of viewing of the first user, and generate priorityinformation identifying segments of the second content of interest tothe second user based on a comparison between the first and the secondinformation.
 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim2, wherein the processing circuitry updates the priority informationbased on at least one of an operation history and a viewing history. 4.The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein theprocessing circuitry updates the priority information based on operationhistory and viewing history.
 5. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein the second user is a user who has notviewed the second content.
 6. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein the degree of attention is calculatedbased on a movement of the first user detected from an image of thefirst user viewing the first content.
 7. The information processingapparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first user is identifiedbased on a face included in the image.
 8. The information processingapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the degree of attention iscalculated based on a log of operation, of a device, of the first userfor viewing of the first content.
 9. The information processingapparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first user is identifiedfrom owner information of the device.
 10. The information processingapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry isfurther configured to generate, using the first information and secondinformation, the priority information, the priority informationincluding information identifying out of a plurality of segments of asecond content particular segments of interest to the second user basedon a comparison between the first information and the secondinformation.
 11. The information processing apparatus according to claim2, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate thepriority information by calculating a similarity between the firstinformation and the second information.
 12. The information processingapparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processing circuitry isfurther configured to store third information indicating a third degreeof attention, for each part of first content, calculated based on astate of viewing of a plurality of users.
 13. An information processingmethod comprising: storing, in memory, first information indicating adegree of attention for a segment of a first content based on a state ofviewing of a first user and a second user; storing, in the memory,second information indicating a degree of attention for a segment of asecond content based on a state of viewing of the first user;generating, by processing circuitry, priority information identifyingsegments of the second content of interest to the second user based on acomparison between the first and the second information.
 14. Anon-transitory computer readable medium including computer executableinstructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by a computer,cause the computer to perform a method, the method comprising: storingfirst information indicating a degree of attention for a segment of afirst content based on a state of viewing of a first user and a seconduser; storing second information indicating a degree of attention for asegment of a second content based on a state of viewing of the firstuser; generating priority information identifying segments of the secondcontent of interest to the second user based on a comparison between thefirst and the second information.